


Actors

by buoyantsaturn



Series: auctober 2018 [10]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Actor Nico di Angelo, Alternate Universe - Actors, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Medical Student Will Solace, actor percy jackson, maybe i'll add more tags later we'll see, once again i force everyone to think about hockey for a little while, reyna is nicos manager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 07:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: The bartender slid the shots across the bar to him, calling out a price, and Nico dropped a bill on the bar before downing two of the shots in quick succession. He could hear the bartender saying, “Hey, buddy, maybe you should slow down,” as Nico downed the last one. He pushed off from the bar and started toward a crowded table, focusing only on one very handsome blond.Nico set his hand on the table near the blond and leaned in with an, “Excuse me.” The blond turned to look up at him with wide blue eyes, and Nico knew he’d chosen wisely. “Would you care for a dance with me?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> happy auctober!! i wrote this au about 2 years ago in a bunch of little parts and i finally rewrote them in a way that they blend together into one seamless (kind of) story, so i hope you like it!!
> 
> i couldn't find any specific lines in actors by all time low that fit this fic as a whole so i just went with the song title instead

Nico kept glancing toward the entrance of the club, keeping an eye out for his manager in case she tracked him down and tried to stop him. He hurried to the bar and ordered three shots of whatever the bartender recommended. While he waited, he scanned the masses and tables - checking the door once again on his sweep - and his eyes fell on his target.

The bartender slid the shots across the bar to him, calling out a price, and Nico dropped a bill on the bar before downing two of the shots in quick succession. He could hear the bartender saying, “Hey, buddy, maybe you should slow down,” as Nico downed the last one. He pushed off from the bar and started toward a crowded table, focusing only on one very handsome blond. 

Nico set his hand on the table near the blond and leaned in with an, “Excuse me.” The blond turned to look up at him with wide blue eyes, and Nico knew he’d chosen wisely. “Would you care for a dance with me?”

Those big blue eyes blinked up at him as the blond hesitated.

“If you’re straight or something, I understand,” Nico said, pulling back slightly, though he could tell by the way the blond was looking him up and down that he was at least a little bit gay.

“No! No, I--” He turned to his friends, either as an explanation that he’d rather stay with them, or hoping one of them would provide his excuse.

“Will,” one of the ladies at the table cut in, “go on! He’s cute, one dance won’t kill you. Have some fun for once!”

“Oh,” Will said, like that wasn’t the answer he’d been looking for, and looked back at Nico. “Alright. Yeah, I’ll dance with you. I have to warn you, though, I’m not very good.”

“I didn’t ask you to be,” Nico replied, and held out a hand for him to take. 

It happened the same way it always did for Nico, from the initial pickup to the dancing which would soon enough turn to grinding, to one more drink at the bar while one of them called a car, to making out in the backseat, until finally they were in Nico’s apartment, dropping on the bed, shedding the other’s clothes and losing themselves in one another.

 

Will woke up with a throbbing headache, though he felt so much more comfortable than he usually did on his lumpy old mattress. He groaned as he rolled over, tugging the blanket over his head to make the already dark room darker, but he bumped into something. Something warm, something soft, something--

He yanked the blanket off his head - someone else’s blanket, not his own, not on his  _ bed -  _ and tried to see the person next to him in the darkness. He couldn’t make out much, but he had the vague recognition of that face from the club he’d been at with his friends the night before. He’d danced with him and must’ve had another drink with him if the headache was anything to go by, but he couldn’t remember a name. Did this guy ever even tell Will his name?

Will slipped out of bed, careful not to wake the other man, and got down on his hands and knees to search for his clothes. He found his jeans and boxers together, pulling those on hurriedly and checking the pockets for his phone and wallet prior to continuing the search for his shirt. Before he could locate it, however, the bedroom door open, blinding Will momentarily and aggravating his headache, and he gazed up to see a woman standing in the doorway.

He could hear her sigh and say, “I was afraid this would happen.” She offered Will a hand, though when he only looked at it in confusion, the woman rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. “There’s a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on the table in the living room. Please, make yourself at home. I’ll be with you shortly.”

She guided Will out of the room and gave him a nudge in the direction she wanted him to go, and Will had to take a second to wonder where the hell he’d wound up. 

He made it to the living room before he heard shouting in the direction from which he’d come, and thumping like something was being hit with a pillow. In another moment, the no-longer sleeping man came into the room, still pulling a shirt over his head, followed by the woman who hit him once in the shoulder with a pillow before pushing him toward the couch where Will was sitting. 

The man curled up in the corner of the couch opposite Will, pouting and glaring at the woman. To Will, he looked like he could’ve been anywhere from nineteen to twenty-five, and with the dark hair and dark eyes, he was just Will’s type. No wonder he’d gone home with him the previous night. Will knew he shouldn’t stare, but at the same time he didn’t want to take his eyes off the other.

The woman stood in front of them on the opposite side of the coffee table. “Before we begin, may I ask your name?”

“Um. I’m Will,” he said. “Can I ask  _ your _ name?”

“I am Reyna Ramirez,” the woman replied, and nodded toward the man, “and of course, you’ve already had the unfortunate opportunity to meet Nico.”

Nico huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m going to make a guess based on that startled look you’ve got that you have no idea what’s happening here, is that right?” Reyna asked, and Will nodded. “Well, usually people are lucky enough not to get caught hooking up outside a nightclub, but you, Will, were not so lucky. Unless you had the intention of having your face all over the tabloids?”

“My...what?” Will glanced at Nico, but he simply rolled his eyes, so Will turned his attention back to Reyna.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You  _ do _ know who he is, right?”

Will shook his head.

“That’s Nico di Angelo,” Reyna tried again, but must not have seen the recognition she was expecting to appear on Will’s face. “TV actor? Model? Movie star?”

Will’s eyes widened. “I slept with a movie star?”

“You’re kidding me,” Reyna said plainly. “You have  _ no idea _ who he is?”

“I don’t usually have time to watch TV,” Will explained. “I spend most of my time studying.”

“Studying? Please tell me you’re not in high school, I can  _ not _ deal with that kind of scandal.”

“No!” Will said, and had to laugh a little bit. “No,  _ god _ no, I’m not in high school. I’m twenty-four.”

“And still in college?” Reyna asked, and turned to Nico. “Do you see what you’ve done, Nico? He’s not even out of college, and you’ve already ruined his life.”

“Woah, what? Ruined my life?” Will repeated, suddenly more alarmed than he’d been all morning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Reyna pulled her phone out of her pocket, holding up a finger at Will to keep him from asking any more questions, and then showed him an article containing blurry pictures that Will could just make out as himself and Nico. “Someone saw the two of you leave  _ Jupiter _ together last night and got pictures. Up until this point, Nico has never dated someone - publicly  _ or _ privately - nor has he been the main focus of any sort of scandal. The media has gone into a frenzy over this, and if you’re not careful, they  _ will _ hunt you down.”

Will dropped his head into his hands. “Oh, god,” he groaned. “What do I… What can I even do about this?”

“I do have an idea, if you’re willing to go along with me,” Reyna began. “It will be time consuming, but I’m hoping it’ll be beneficial for the both of you.”

“Anything,” Will pleaded.

“You give the media what they want.”

“No,” Nico spoke up for the first time, and at the sound of his voice, Will flashed back to the club the night before, just for a moment remembering Nico leaning up to whisper something in his ear - something dirty, probably, something to get him into bed.

“You don’t have a say in this,” Reyna snapped.

“It’s  _ my _ life, I can say  _ no _ if I  _ want to!”  _ Nico argued. “I’m not going to be some kind of puppet for the media!”

“You don’t have to  _ marry him, _ you just have to go on a few dates,” Reyna explained further. “For a month or so,  _ maybe. _ And when some  _ real _ scandal comes up in a couple of weeks, everyone will forget about this and the two of you can  _ break up _ quietly.”

“I don’t really see how this is mutually beneficial,” Will said.

“For Nico, this will get him a positive spotlight for a few weeks, because a hookup would paint him in more of a negative light, and having you around would give him someone besides me and his costars to socialize with,” Reyna said. “For you, you’ll have your freedom not only from Nico, but from the media in about a month. And… You said you’re in college? Consider this semester paid for.”

“What?” Will asked.  _ “Paid for?  _ Like,  _ completely?” _

“Of course. Nico has plenty of money to spare.”

“Hey, you offered it, why don’t  _ you _ pay for it?” Nico demanded.

“Because I handle your finances and know that you have more to spare than I do.” She looked back at Will. “So it’s settled? You’ll do this?”

“Well, uh, a fake relationship is a two-way street,” Will said, and both turned their attention to Nico, still glaring though at this point Will realized that that might have been his hangover and not necessarily his overall mood. 

Nico sighed. “Fine. Yeah, whatever, I’ll do it.”

“Great,” Reyna said. “Will, that means I’ll need to run a background check on you - I’ll need your full name, current address, date of birth, a few other things - and I’ll also need your phone number so that I can get into contact with you should I need to. The two of you will need to spend plenty of time together in private to get to know each other and learn how to be a couple before you’re released to the public eye. I’ve got a few things I need to take care of this morning, so why don’t the two of you get better acquainted, and I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait, what?” Nico said, sitting up suddenly. “You’re just gonna leave us here?”

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “You’re both adults, I’m sure you can handle yourselves. Why don’t you have breakfast together? Will, Nico makes  _ delicious _ breakfast crepes.”

 

Will helped very little with the crepes, though Nico insisted that if he was going to make breakfast for the both of them, then Will needed to do something to assist him. Will sliced up strawberries that Nico had pulled out of the fridge while Nico was cracking eggs and whisking them with flour and pouring it all into a flat frying pan and swirling the batter around for a moment before rolling the crepe onto a plate on the counter. Will had gotten so distracted watching Nico that he hadn’t finished cutting up the strawberries by the time Nico had used up all the batter.

They sat down at a small table Nico had in his kitchen, across from each other as they started eating their crepes. 

“So, um,” Will said after finishing his first crepe and hoping to break the uncomfortable silence between them. “I have a sister, her name’s Kayla, and, uh, now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure she’s a fan of yours. At least, she’s tried to get me to watch some movie you’re in, but I don’t remember which one. I had to keep turning it down because I don’t have a lot of free time with classes and everything, since I’m in medical school.”

Nico’s eyebrows shot up at that, finally reacting to something Will said for the first time that morning. “Medical school?” he repeated.

“Yeah,” Will said, and let himself smile a little bit. “I’m in my third year at UCLA, and I’ll be starting my surgical residence in a couple of years.”

Nico finished his crepe and leaned back in his seat so that he could cross his arms. “You get that this is going to be time consuming, right? You’re going to be in classes all day, and Reyna’s gonna make you spend every second of your free time with me, or with some kind of media coach or something. This isn’t  _ easy.” _

“Undergrad wasn’t  _ easy,” _ Will shot back. “Neither were my first two years of med school.”

“You can’t just--” Nico waved one of his hands in front of him as he fought for the words. “People can’t balance a normal life with a life like mine. It’s not  _ worth it, _ don’t you get that? You’d be better off going back to your life now before you  _ really _ get tangled up in this mess.”

“I didn’t  _ ask _ to get picked up last night,” Will reminded him.

_ “I  _ didn’t ask  _ you _ to still be here when I woke up,” Nico argued.

Will frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Have you  _ never _ hooked up with somebody before?”

“No, I  _ told you, _ I don’t have time for stuff like that.”

Nico felt some kind of pressure in his chest at Will’s words. How could someone that looked like him  _ not _ be hooking up with somebody every chance he got? He had to get  _ offers,  _ right? He’d slept with  _ someone _ before,  _ right? _

Nico tried to hide whatever this was that he was feeling by falling back in his seat again with a huff. “Let me give you some advice for your next hookup then:  _ don’t be there when the other guy wakes up. _ Better yet, don’t even fall asleep. Just get out.”

Will took a deep breath, eyes shutting as he did so like it would help him to calm down. “You know what? We can’t change what already happened, so why don’t we both just forget about it. I’m getting an  _ entire semester’s _ tuition out of this, that’s not something I can pass up, so you’d better get used to me and learn to at least  _ pretend _ that you like me.”

Nico’s eyes dropped to his empty plate. “You’re going to get harrassed.”

“Nico--”

“I’m trying to  _ prepare you, _ Will,” Nico cut in, glaring harshly at him before dropping his gaze again. “When this gets out, there’s going to be cameras on you all the time. People are going to try to get close to you just for the fame. They’re going to be waiting for you to make even the tiniest slip up so that they can tear you to pieces for the entire world to see. People are gonna hate you  _ solely _ because you’re dating me, and if you’re seen talking to anyone else for too long, you’re going to get accused to cheating, and then people are going to hate you  _ more.” _

“I can handle people hating me, Nico,” Will told him. “I don’t care what people think.”

_ “My career _ is caring what people think of me, Will,” Nico said. “It’s not just about  _ you. _ This could throw a wrench in my entire life, and I don’t think you  _ or _ Reyna gets that.”

“I’m not trying to take over your life or something--”

_ “I don’t know how to date somebody.” _

Will’s mouth snapped shut. He...what? 

“I’ve never dated anybody before,” Nico said quietly, calmly, almost shyly. “I don’t particularly care to, either, and I’d rather deal with this by myself.”

Will leaned in and set a hand on the table between them. “But you don’t  _ have to _ do this by yourself. I’ve dated before, I can walk you through it. It’s not as bad as you think, once you get past all the lame first-date stuff. It’s like...friends, but closer. Who kiss sometimes and maybe move in together and might choose to have their friendship recognized by the state so that they can get a tax deduction, or something.”

Nico snorted, and Will saw the ghost of a smile on his lips. It was the most beautiful he’d looked to Will in the twelve hours that they’d known each other.

“I draw the line at fake marriage for the tax benefits,” Nico told him, and Will felt the tension drain from his shoulders.

“So you’ll do it?” Will asked. “No more trying to back out?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can suck it up for a month.”

Will smiled, and Nico had to look away for fear of being blinded - and to hide any reaction he might have had at the sight. “Thank you, Nico.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Will pushed his chair back from the table and picked up his plate. “Thank you for breakfast, too, but I’ve gotta get home so I can get some studying done. Can I give you my phone number to give to Reyna later?” He dropped his plate off in the sink.

“Yeah, I’ll put it in my phone right now,” Nico said, and slipped a hand into the pocket of his sweatpants and brought out his phone. As Will called out his number, Nico typed it in.

Nico took his own plate to the sink and started washing it.

“I’ll, uh, see you later, I guess,” Will said, and suddenly Nico felt a slight pressure on his cheek. He looked up at Will in alarm, who was steadily growing pink across his face. “Sorry, uh, that was kind of weird, right? I figure, we have to pretend that we’re dating so we should act like it, but, uh. That was just super weird. I’m gonna...leave now. Bye.”

Will turned on his heel and marched out of the kitchen. Nico wanted to dunk his head in the sink in the hopes that the water might cool his burning cheeks.

 

* * *

 

Will had been slacking on his studying since then. Between his classes and meeting up with Nico and watching a few of Nico’s movies and doing some borderline-stalkerish research on his fake boyfriend, Will had a tough time keeping up.

There had been times that Will brought his homework with him to hang out with Nico, but Reyna had always insisted that they get to know each other and get comfortable around the other. Once, she’d forced them to sit on the couch and hold hands until she returned, and then left them there. Will had managed to do some of his readings for class while still holding Nico’s hand, and the actor had ended up falling asleep on Will’s shoulder by the time Reyna came back into the room.

More than a few times, Reyna had kept them up late at Nico’s apartment, and so Nico had offered up his guest room to Will. Every time Will would decline saying, “Maybe next time,” though he never considered bringing a change of clothes with him to Nico’s despite knowing that a potential “next time” could happen anytime. 

After about two weeks, Reyna had deemed them fit for the public eye and set up an interview with Nico on some morning talk show. It was still close enough to the release of his most recent movie that he could be asked about it as well as his relationship with Will, so Reyna wanted to make sure that this interview happened as soon as possible. 

Will had been in class when the interview aired, but Reyna made sure he could watch it in Nico’s apartment later that day - neither of them were there, and Will felt odd being in somebody else’s apartment all by himself. 

The interviewer introduced Nico and asked him a few questions about his last movie before breaking into what were obviously the questions they actually cared about. “We hear you have something of a special announcement to share with us today,” she said. “Is there any chance it has something to do with those photos of you outside of  _ Jupiter _ a couple of weeks ago?”

Nico smiled and ducked his head bashfully, and Will wished he could see Nico smile at  _ him _ like that. “Yeah, actually, that’s exactly it,” Nico replied. “We’d been trying to be quiet about it, since he’s not a celebrity or anything so he’s never been exposed to all of this.” He gestured around the room, and Will knew that  _ this _ meant  _ Nico’s fame. _

“Tell us about him,” the interviewer prompted. “How’d you meet?”

“It’s a pretty funny story, actually,” Nico said with a laugh. “He, uh, bumped into me on the street outside a Starbucks and I accidentally spilled my coffee all over him. And I mean, like, the whole cup, very hot, very fresh coffee. So I apologized, of course, I offered to buy him something from Starbucks and pay to clean his shirt and his shoes - seriously, he was practically standing in a puddle of coffee at this point - and he said,  _ What about a date instead?” _

The interviewer, who had been laughing along with his story the entire time, said, “And that worked.”

“Not right away,” Nico said. “I mean, you gotta be careful who you run into on the street, he could’ve been following me and waiting for this opportunity or something. So I said-- It was the dumbest thing, but I said,  _ Don’t you know who I am?” _ The interviewer  _ oohed _ in sympathy as Nico continued, “And he literally had no idea. So now I seem like the biggest jerk on the planet, and I’m like,  _ Okay, cool, sure, let’s go on a date. _ And he went with it.”

“He was still up for it after that?” the interviewer asked, and Nico nodded. “So why don’t you tell us a little bit about him?”

“There’s only so much I can say while still respecting his privacy,” Nico informed her. “He’s in his third year of medical school, he told me he wants to be a surgeon, so right there you can already tell that he’s  _ miles _ out of my league--”

“Oh, come on, Nico, you of all people can’t say something like that!”

“No way, if you met him, you’d agree with me,” Nico said. “He’s handsome and kind, obviously incredibly smart, he’s devoted his life to helping people - how can I compare with that? It’s like, the dream scenario, because not only is he practically perfect, but being with him...it’s like I’m just a regular guy. He doesn’t know every single detail about my life, so our first few dates were completely normal. Not a lot of actors can have that experience.”

“It certainly sounds like you’re pretty head-over-heels for this guy,” the interviewer said. “When does the rest of the world get to meet him? Don’t tell me we have to wait until he’s your date to the Oscars.”

“I’m sure it’ll be sooner than that,” Nico assured her, “but ultimately I’m leaving it up to him. I wouldn’t force him into the public eye if that wasn’t what he wanted.”

“Well, I’m sure we’re all looking forward to knowing more about your mystery man,” the interviewer said, and turned to the camera to deliver her scripted closing lines. 

Just as Will had finished watching the interview, the front door opened and Reyna stepped inside the apartment. “Will, I’m glad to see Nico actually gave you the spare key I had made for you. I take it you watched the interview, too?”

“Yeah, I just finished it,” Will told her. “Did, uh, did you come up with the story of how we met? Or was that him?”

“Mostly him,” Reyna answered, tapping away at the iPad in her hands. “I tweaked it a little bit, but he’s an actor and he’s good at it. He lies very well, even I get tricked by it every so often.”

“He’s a  _ really _ good actor,” Will commented, and Reyna raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s his job,” Reyna reminded him.

Just then, the door swung open, and Nico groaned as he dragged himself inside. He dropped onto the couch and slumped against Will’s side - he got over his discomfort by physical touch pretty quick when he was tired. 

“I hate interview days,” Nico complained, and glared up at Reyna. “Never schedule seven interviews in the same day ever again.”

“Three of those interviews were supposed to happen months ago, but you kept pushing them back, and two of them you’d skipped altogether, so I had to reschedule them,” Reyna said. “Do  _ what _ you’re supposed to  _ when _ you’re supposed to, and it won’t happen again.”

“Just tell me I don’t have anything else to do today,” Nico moaned.

“You do,” Reyna said, and tapped on her tablet a few more times before holding it out to him, “but I think you’ll enjoy this one.”

Nico took the iPad, having to sit up away from Will to reach for it, and gasped when he saw what was on the screen. “Rangers tickets?” Nico said, and Will peeked over his shoulder to see for himself. “I haven’t been to a Rangers game in  _ years! _ Holy shit, I have to call Percy!”

“You’re taking Will,” Reyna told him. “You made your official announcement, so now it’s time for a soft exposure. No one will expect you to go to a hockey game, so there shouldn’t be anyone looking out for you.”

Nico huffed and handed back the tablet before slumping back into the couch. “Fine.”

“I hope you like hockey, Will,” Reyna said. “There will be a car here to pick you up in half an hour, the driver will have your tickets. I’ll see you both tomorrow, enjoy the game.”

Reyna spun around and walked out of the apartment.

After a short moment of silence, Will turned to Nico and said, “I’ve never been to a hockey game before.”

“You’re gonna wanna put on something warmer,” Nico suggested, eyeing Will’s t-shirt.

“We’re going to be inside, aren’t we?” 

“It’s a room full of ice, Will, you do know what hockey is, I’m sure.”

“Of course I do, I wasn’t raised in a cave or something,” Will shot back. “But I also don’t have any other clothes.”

“Oh, right.” Nico frowned in thought. “I might have something you can borrow.” He hopped up from the couch, glancing behind him to make sure Will was following, and led the blond into his bedroom.

Will hadn’t been in Nico’s room since waking up there after their hookup, so he finally had a chance to take it all in. The walls were gray, the windows all covered by thick, dark curtains to block out the light. Almost one entire wall was taken up by closet doors, which Nico opened as soon as they stepped inside. The first thing he pulled out - a red sweater - was handed to Will to try on.

He was frozen for a second at the sight of the sweater. He’d seen that exact article of clothing in one of Nico’s photoshoots - Will’s  _ favorite _ of all the shoots he’d seen, where Nico had looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, wearing this oversized sweater with the sleeves pulled over his hands.

Nico eyed him until he finally accepted the sweater and pulled it on over his head. It fit perfectly. “I think this’ll work,” Will said.

“Cool,” Nico said, and went back into the closet. He resurfaced with a giant blue jersey with the name  _ Lundqvist  _ on the back, which he pulled on over his t-shirt - it fell to his thighs and the sleeves covered his hands, making him into a shapeless blob with legs and a head. “Do you wanna grab something to eat before we go?”

 

Nico grabbed Will’s hand when they stepped out of the car, and Will thought his heart may have stopped for a second. Sometimes he forgot that they were even pretending to date, that they weren’t just hanging out as friends, that in public they were a  _ couple. _

Nico squeezed his hand and tugged Will toward the arena, a bright smile on his face. “C’mon, Will, I haven’t been to a hockey game in  _ years.” _

Will couldn’t breathe, but hurried along behind Nico anyway.

Their seats were in the third row from the front, center ice, and Nico was practically bouncing with excitement. Nico leaned toward Will so that he could be heard over the dull roar of the voices around the arena. 

“The last time I was at a Rangers game was when I still lived in New York,” he started. “The seats were in the very back of the top ring, like the actual last row against the wall. The tickets were a birthday gift from my sister, she saved up for  _ months  _ to get them, even though I told her not to bother.” 

Will opened his mouth to respond, but a buzzer sounded and the game began. 

Having never watched a hockey game before, Will had no idea what was happening, unless Nico chose to lean over and explain something to him over the roaring of the crowds. For the most part, the actor was up on his feet, shouting at the players as they skated by.

Eventually, Nico collapsed in his seat with a groan, slouching in his chair with a pout on his face. Will really wished he’d stop making that face when he was so close - Will didn’t know how much more of it he could take. He glanced at the scoreboard hanging above center ice, seeing the Rangers down by two. The buzzer went off again, signaling a break in the game, and Will turned to Nico. “They could still win, right? It’s just the end of the first quarter, there’s plenty of time.” He tried to sound encouraging, but he had a feeling he wasn’t doing as well as he hoped.

Nico turned to face him with a hint of a smile on his lips. “First  _ period, _ not quarter. Three twenty-minute periods with eighteen-minute breaks in between. No halftime. You really don’t know anything about hockey, do you?”

“Never exactly had the time to pay attention to sports, what with getting into medical school,” Will told him, smiling back. Nico grinned faintly, turning away to try and hide his smile behind his hand as he leaned against the opposite arm of his chair. 

Less than a minute later, Will glanced back up at the mega screen, where a video framed in a heart landed on couple after couple, only resting on them long enough for the audience to see the couple kiss. Will looked back at Nico, whose gaze had dropped to his phone in his hand. Will’s eyes traveled up to the screen one last time, just long enough to see Nico’s face appear, framed in the heart with the girl sitting on his other side. Nico was still staring down at his phone, not noticing the sudden increase of the dull roar around them, until the girl next to him placed a hand on his arm.

Nico blinked, turning toward the brightly smiling girl, gaze then darting up to the screen, eyes wide in fear, hands dropping to the arm rests. Will covered one of Nico’s hands with his own, waiting until the other’s head turned toward him. 

Will leaned closer to him, slowly, bringing his other hand up to cup Nico’s cheek. “Stop me if you want,” he muttered, just loud enough for Nico to hear him over the crowd. He watched as Nico’s eyes flickered downward for a split second before they were both leaning even closer, and their lips pressed together.

They kissed again and again, both sets of eyes sliding shut, until a loud whistle somewhere behind them separated the two suddenly. 

Will’s face was dripping with embarrassment, but Nico was smiling brightly at him. He started laughing, collapsing forward into Will’s chest. “That had to have been the cheesiest thing I’ve ever done,” Nico told him, keeping himself pressed against Will even as he turned to watch as the second period of the game began.

Will stretched out, wrapping an arm around Nico’s shoulders. “You get that feeling a lot when you’re dating somebody.”

Nico suddenly didn’t feel the same chill of the arena he’d felt beforehand. He hoped that the pink that was undoubtedly dusting his cheeks looked like he was still cold, not like he was  _ blushing. _ He  _ had _ been getting that feeling a lot recently.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's prompt is study buddies and you might forget that for most of this chapter but i promise there's some studying in there towards the end

Nico kept their hands locked together the whole way home, ignoring any pointed looks Will might have given him, and pretending he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. He didn’t allow for any awkward moments as they returned to Nico’s apartment, filling the silence with enthusiastic talk about the game.

Will was happy to watch the actor talk, waving his free arm around to emphasize his points, only stopping when he needed to pull his keys out of his pocket to open his door.

Will almost followed Nico straight into his bedroom before he realized his mistake and stopped as Nico continued forward. He said an awkward goodnight before turning toward the guest room. During the few times he’d slept in that room before, he’d fallen asleep almost instantly, having been too exhausted to make his way home by himself. This time, however, he couldn’t get himself to stop thinking about the kiss he’d shared with Nico in the arena, and how Nico had stayed pressed to his side for the rest of the night. He almost missed the feeling as he struggled to find sleep, more than a few times considering what might happen if he slipped into bed with Nico.

He woke in the morning to the sound of his phone ringing. He groaned as he crawled out of bed and dug his phone out of the pocket of his discarded jeans. It was Reyna.

“Hello?” he said around a yawn.

“Will, I need you to come to Nico’s, there’s something I need to show the both of you,” she told him, and when she spoke Will could hear her voice in the hallway.

“Okay,” he said, and stepped out of the room, startling Reyna - if he were more awake he would have mentally patted himself on the back for getting Reyna to show an emotion other than anger or disinterest. 

“Oh!” she said. “You’re...already here. Did you actually sleep in later than Nico for once?”

“I had a tough time falling asleep,” Will said, running a hand through his hair. “What did you want to show me?”

She gestured down the hall toward the living room. “I’d like to show you both at the same time. Nico’s making coffee, if you’d like some.”

Will nodded and walked into the living room, Reyna following behind him, and he sat down on the couch. Nico came to sit next to him with a cup of coffee for himself in his hands that Will pulled close enough to take a sip from.

“Did you just wake up?” Nico asked, and Will hummed an affirmative. “When you weren’t out here when I got up, I assumed you went home.”

Will slouched against Nico’s side, head resting on his shoulder as he stifled another yawn. The look Nico shot Reyna was almost panicked. 

Reyna tapped a few times on the tablet she held in her hands as he stepped closer to them. She held the tablet out to Nico, letting it hover between them until he put down his coffee.

“What is this?” Nico asked, scrolling the page down to view the title of the article.

It looked like one of those teen magazine covers with the poorly cropped pictures of celebrities. This one, of course, had a picture from the game the night before, of Nico and Will mid-kiss during the break between periods. Will had one hand on Nico’s cheek, the other resting on Nico’s thigh, and Nico’s hands were lost in the fabric of Will’s sweater. 

Looking at the picture, Nico felt something like panic rising in his chest at the thought of millions of people seeing such a public display of affection, but the nerves fell away when he saw the bubble-lettered title of the page:  _ DI ANGELO DATING DOCTOR SEXY? _

Nico snorted, slapping a hand over his mouth to try and mask his laughter as Will rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Holy shit,” Will said, prying the tablet out of Nico’s hands and holding the screen close to his face. “That’s-- That’s really obviously me, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. This is what you agreed to, Will, you know that.” Reyna glanced at Nico with a raised eyebrow as the actor lost control of his laughter, arms wrapped around his stomach and head tipped back against the back of the couch. “Honestly, I’m surprised he’s taking it so well. Or maybe he’s finally snapped.”

Nico’s laughter was starting to subside, but when he glanced up at Will, a new wave washed over him. “Doctor Sexy!” he screeched. 

Will leaned over him, resting an arm over the back of the couch. “Are you trying to say I’m  _ not _ sexy?”

Nico’s lungs seized up. He was still smiling brightly up at Will, eyes shining with the beginnings of tears, and cheeks pink from the lack of oxygen. “No,” he said slowly, drawing out the word.

Will felt himself leaning in, like Nico was pulling him down just with the look in his eyes, and Will caught himself gazing down at Nico’s lips instead as he continued tipping forward.

Reyna cleared her throat, and the two sprung apart from each other. “I’m glad the two of you aren’t panicking about this,” she said, “but if I remember correctly, Will, you have a class to get to, and Nico has a table read for a new project in an hour.”

 

* * *

 

Nico had been told by Reyna that he was no longer allowed to sneak out to bars - at least not for the duration of his and Will’s “relationship,” and it wasn’t like she’d  _ allowed _ him to before anyway - which essentially meant no drinking or sleeping around. Of course, Reyna seemed to forget that, now that she’d basically had Will move into Nico’s apartment, he didn’t even have to leave the comfort of his own home for those things. He simply needed to find some of his older bottles of alcohol hidden in his cabinets, and wait for Will’s classes to end for the night.

He’d taken two shots of something unlabeled and strong-smelling that he’d found deep in the pantry before Will arrived, feet dragging as he entered the apartment. He dropped his bag inside the door, stretching the kinks out of his back.

Nico approached Will without any hesitation, stepping right into his personal space and fisting a hand in the front of Will’s shirt. Will barely had a chance to look startled before Nico was pulling him down and forcing him into a kiss. Will felt himself starting to relax until he tasted the alcohol on Nico’s lips.

Will pulled back, just far enough out of Nico’s reach that he could speak. “What are you doing?” he breathed, eyes wide with shock and hands hovering just inches away from Nico’s skin.

“I don’t know,” Nico told him, not yet relinquishing his grasp. His gaze flicked up from Will’s lips to his eyes, tugging just barely on the front of Will’s shirt. “Come with me?”

He only hesitated for a second before his head twitched in a nod, and Nico started to drag him off down the hall. They stumbled back into Nico’s bedroom, tripping onto the bed and tugging at each other’s clothes. 

Nico rolled himself onto his back, pulling Will over him to feel the full weight of his body resting between his hips. Will pulled himself back, propping his weight up on the hands planted on either side of Nico’s head even as Nico tried to pull him back down. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked, still tasting the sharpness of the alcohol from Nico’s tongue. 

“I want this,” Nico insisted breathlessly, pushing himself up to connect his lips with Will’s once more.

 

The next night, it was Nico that didn’t get home until much later in the day, practically dead on his feet from a day of filming. He hadn’t been expecting to film for nearly fifteen hours, seeing as there had only been three scenes scheduled to shoot that day. When she’d heard Nico starting to complain, Reyna had glared at him out of the corner of her eye (like he’d done something to  _ offend her personally) _ and said, “He’ll be here as late as he needs to be.”

Which meant filming and refilming a scene where Nico’s character was beaten up. Of course, the actor “attacking him” had never had a stage combat lesson _in his life,_ and actually hit Nico _for real,_ _multiple_ _times._ He knew as soon as filming was done for the night that there would be real bruises on his skin underneath where fake ones had been painted. And the combination of the unintentional beating and his and Will’s... _activities_ the night before left Nico sore _everywhere._

He staggered into his apartment that night, not expecting Will to have still been there when he arrived. He wanted to simply collapse in his bed and sleep for the next thirty hours, but Will stopped him before he could get that far.

“Nico, what--  _ Holy shit, _ what happened to you?” Will asked, rushing toward him and framing Nico’s face in his hands delicately.

“I’m  _ fine,” _ Nico told him. He was starting to get cranky. “It’s just makeup.”

“That’s--” Will sighed, visibly relaxing. “That’s really realistic makeup.” He pressed his fingers gently against Nico’s cheek, and the actor flinched.

“I’m fine,” Nico said hurriedly, trying to pull himself back. “I just want to sleep, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Will said, letting his hands fall from Nico’s cheeks. “Can I just-- Come with me.” He reached for Nico’s hand, pulling him with little resistance toward the bathroom.

“Will, no,” Nico argued weakly, but followed, and even obeyed when Will told him to sit on the counter in the bathroom. Nico closed his eyes, head tipping down as he started to fall asleep sitting up, but Will stepped close, standing between Nico’s thighs, and pressed a warm washcloth to his cheek. “What’re you doing?” he muttered, flinching back, though his eyes remained shut.

“You can’t go to sleep covered in fake blood and bruises,” Will told him, moving to hold Nico’s head up with one hand as the other worked at wiping away the makeup. Nico pouted, but allowed Will to continue working.

Soon enough, Will moved on from Nico’s face, wiping at the drops of blood that had fallen down his neck, and then started to scrub at a few tiny round bruises at the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

“Will,” Nico said, eyes cracking open as Will rubbed at the stubborn bruise. “That’s not makeup.”

Will was suddenly thankful that he’d only been using the hall light to see by - less chance of Nico seeing the flush rising in his cheeks.

He cleared his throat, stepping back. “Right, okay. So, uh, I guess that’s it, then.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door, and Nico groaned. “Can you get that? I don’t think I could walk that far if I wanted to.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Will said, and moved out of the bathroom and through the living room to reach the door. He opened it, revealing a tall, muscular man with black hair and sharp green eyes that narrowed when they landed on Will. 

“Well, well, well,” he said, stepping forward until Will had no choice but to walk backwards into the apartment and let him in. “If it isn’t Doctor Sexy himself.”

“Percy,” Nico called from across the room, and Will felt so much more at ease as soon as that glare was no longer directed at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Nico, it’s been so long!” Percy exclaimed, opening his arms and moving toward Nico until the smaller of the two crossed his arms and glared.

“Percy.”

He frowned. “Come on, you never call me anymore, what’s up with that? Not even when you got a  _ boyfriend! _ And  _ Ranger’s tickets!” _

_ “Perseus,” _ Nico growled, and Percy finally conceded.

“Geez, fine,” Percy said. “I need a place to stay for a couple nights. It’s too late to get into any decent hotels around here, and I know you have a guest room, so what do you say?”

“No.”

“Reyna already said I could,” Percy said. “I can call her right now and probably wake her up, and then she’ll yell at you.”

Nico sighed in anger, and Will was certain his teeth were grinding together. “Fine. One night,” Nico hissed, “but after that, you’re gone. And no intimidating my boyfriend, got it?” 

“Sure, fine,” Percy said, raising his hands in surrender. “As long as he knows that I have extensive weapons training from one of my movies and I’m not afraid to use use it on him if he tries to hurt you or something.” He looked back at Will over his shoulder and winked, and Will felt the blood drain from his face.

“I was in that same movie, Percy, I know all the same shit,” Nico reminded him, and stepped around Percy to reach for Will’s hand. “And threatening counts as intimidating. Say one more thing and I’m throwing you out.”

“Oh, please, Nico, you wouldn’t do that to me, your own brother. I didn’t kick you out when you had nowhere else to go.”

Nico’s grip tightened on Will’s hand, and Will saw his shoulders tense. “That was different, and you know it. And you’re  _ not _ my brother,” he said coldly, and tugged on Will’s hand until he started to move, following Nico to the hallway. “Goodnight, Percy. I hope you sleep like shit.”

Nico dragged Will into his room with him and slammed the door behind them before dropping onto the bed with a huff. Will stood uncomfortably in front of him. “I was going to sleep here tonight,” he said.

“And?” 

“You just gave up my room,” Will pointed out. After a second he said, “Are you okay?”

“No,” Nico snapped. “He pissed me off so much.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Will asked. 

Nico flopped back until he was laying on the mattress with his feet still on the floor. “No,” he sighed. “It’ll just look suspicious if you leave. Or even if you sleep on the couch. You’ll just have to sleep here.”

_ “Here?”  _ Will repeated. “Like, in here with you?”

“Yes,” Nico said with a frown. “Is that a problem?”

“Uh, no, I guess not,” Will replied. He stepped back toward the door. “I’ll, uh, be right back, then.”

Nico got up to change into pajamas and then laid back down, hiding himself under the covers. He suddenly had an all new anxiety trying to take over. Now, not only was Percy in his apartment until morning, but Will would have to share a bed with him without the two of them having slept together immediately beforehand for the first time. 

He could totally fall asleep with Will in his bed. Right? This was just two people, who were not actually dating, sharing a bed. There was nothing to worry about, Nico told himself. Nothing was going to happen.

In the bathroom down the hall, Will was telling himself the same thing.

He returned to Nico’s room shortly, quickly and silently crawling into bed beside Nico.

The two laid there in the dark, silent aside from their breathing and the sounds of their own pulses pounding in their ears.

Will didn’t know how long he laid there in the dark, still wide awake, when he rolled onto his side, facing Nico’s back. “Nico?” he whispered, quiet enough that if Nico had been asleep, he wouldn’t be woken up.

Nico hummed.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Will tried again.

Nico rolled over, meeting Will’s eyes in the dark.

“What was it that Percy said earlier that pissed you off so much?” There was a second of silence, not even enough time for Nico to respond, when Will said quickly, “You don’t have to answer, of course. I get it if that’s too personal, or--”

“Will,” Nico cut in. “It’s fine.” He took a breath, gathering his thoughts. “It’s...a long story. At the Rangers game, do you remember how I told you about my sister, Bianca? I told you that she saved up to buy us tickets for my birthday, even though I told her not to. I told her that because...” He frowned. “We were homeless; we didn’t have anything.”

He started picking at a loose thread on the sheet, eyes locked pointedly away from Will’s.

“My mom died when I was little, and I don’t think I ever met my dad. So when I was like ten, maybe, me and Bia were living on the streets in New York. We couldn’t manage to eat most days, but she  _ insisted _ on treating me for my birthday or Christmas or Easter or whatever, and she was sacrificing  _ so much _ and I never even realized. 

“That was for a few years, until Bia got really sick. I didn’t know what to do, because I was just a kid, and nobody would listen to me when I asked for help, ‘cause no one wants to go anywhere near the little homeless kid. Bia kept getting worse and worse, and by the time Percy found us, I think it was too late.”

“Percy found you?” Will asked carefully.

Nico nodded. “He lived around there, when he wasn’t off filming something somewhere else. Him and his mom took us in, but just a few days later, I woke up and-- Bianca didn’t.”

Will watched as Nico tugged the blankets closer to himself, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. He reached forward slowly, barely brushing against Nico’s hand through the sheets. “I’m sorry, Nico. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Nico’s eyes looked almost blank, staring vacantly forward, seemingly lost in his thoughts. 

Will pulled himself back, rolling onto his back and grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes. “God, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have brought it up, sorry. I’ll just-- you probably don’t want me here anymore, right? So I’ll just--”

He swung his feet over the side of the bed, about to stand, when a cold hand wrapped around his wrist. He turned back, and Nico was watching him, expressionless.

“Stay here,” he said softly. “I won’t deny that you’re an idiot, but if I didn’t wanna talk about it, I wouldn’t have. Don’t ask about my dead mother or absent father in the next few hours and we’re fine.”

Will laid back down, tangling his fingers with Nico’s. “You’re sure?”

Nico shrugged. “Why not. Besides, we can’t risk letting Percy think that our relationship is anything other than perfect, right?” He grinned at Will, pulling a similar smile to Will’s lips.

 

With all of the time that Will had been spending in Nico’s apartment instead of his own, he was falling behind on his class readings, barely managing to finish any homework he might have by the time his classes started. He was barely even  _ sleeping _ because he was trying to study.

That next morning was probably the only chance he would get to learn the names of every bone in the skull and spine, so he got up when his alarm went off at six in the morning, going to sit on the couch in the living room so that he wouldn’t disturb Nico while he continued to sleep.

He could barely keep his eyes open as he read, slumped over the textbook in his lap. He had no idea how he would remember all twenty-however many bones there were in the skull by the time his class started that day, and he definitely wasn’t going to be able to relax until he had all of them memorized. 

Will got up to get himself a cup of coffee, muttering the names of bones to himself as he went, before collapsing back on the couch with a mug in his hands, barely any more awake than he had been minutes before.

He returned to his reading, saying the words to himself aloud, unsure of how long he was studying when the book was pulled out of his lap. It took him a lot longer than it should have to realize that his eyes were no longer moving along lines of text, and he was instead staring down at his own plaid pajama pants. 

Will looked to his side, seeing Nico sitting on the couch beside him, reading Will’s textbook. “How do you make any sense of this?” Nico asked, glancing up from the pages. He leaned forward and picked up Will’s coffee cup from the table, took a sip, and recoiled at how cold it was.

Will sighed. “I don’t, not right now, anyway.”

“Maybe I can help,” Nico offered. “I can quiz you?”

Will shrugged, and Nico started reading. Will felt like he was being lulled to sleep with all the questions-and-answers, until the couch shifted suddenly and there was a weight being pressed to Will’s thigh. 

Nico’s head rested in Will’s lap as he continued reading off the names of bones. Will’s fingers found their way into Nico’s hair, stroking gently as he listened to the sound of Nico’s voice. 

“Temporal,” Nico said, and Will tipped his head back against the back of the couch. 

“I don’t know,” he groaned.

Nico kept his eyes on the picture in the textbook as he reached towards Will’s head, fingers brushing his jaw as he brought his fingers into Will’s hair. His fingers tapped against the bone behind Will’s ear. “The picture says it’s right here,” Nico said. He kept his hand there, fingers beginning to scratch gently instead of tapping as he said, “What about the mandible?”

 

Nico quizzed him on every bone of the skull and spine  _ twice, _ but Will still felt like he wasn’t getting it. Nico didn’t seem to mind helping him, at least, so they started a third time. 

They were about a fourth of the way through when Percy came out of the guest room and headed toward the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “Can you guys be less gross in the public space?” he called from the kitchen. 

“My apartment,” Nico told him. “You can leave if you want.” He tipped his head up to meet Will’s eyes, smirking up at him. “If we gross him out enough, maybe he’ll finally leave.”

“Did you have something in mind?” Will asked, fingers stilling in Nico’s hair. 

Nico closed Will’s textbook, tossing it to the opposite side of the couch and lifting himself onto Will’s lap. He brought his hands up to frame Will’s face, leaning in a meeting his eyes. “You can stop me, if you want,” he said, and brought their lips together.

Will wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, holding him close and kissing him until he heard Percy’s shout of “Gross! C’mon!” and then the sound of the guest room door closing.

Nico pulled back with a bright grin, a sparkle in his eyes, and a dusting of pink of his cheeks. He leaned over to pick up the textbook once again, flipping it back open to the correct page before adjusting his position on Will’s lap until he was resting back against the arm of the couch, his legs thrown over Will’s to rest on the cushion beside him. 

Will could only think,  _ this boy was going to be the death of me. _

Nico continued to quiz him until Will’s phone started to ring on the coffee table, next to his ice cold mug of coffee. Nico reached over to pick it up, handing it to Will who took one look at his sister’s name on the screen and dropped the phone like he’d been burned.

“Who is it?” Nico asked, lifting it off the textbook where it had fallen.

“My sister, Kayla,” Will answered. “The one who’s a huge fan of you. What do I do?”

Nico hesitated, confused like it was some kind of trick question. “Answer her?”

“No way, she’s going to scream at me,” Will said, and suddenly seemed to get an idea. “You answer it.”

“What? No, I don’t know your sister,” Nico argued. 

The call cut out, and Will sighed in relief until his phone lit up again with a second call. “Nico, please!” Will begged.

“Ugh, fine!” Nico said, and hopped off Will’s lap to answer the call. “Um. Hi?”

_ “Oh my god!” _ Kayla shrieked, so loud that Will could hear it.

Nico tossed the phone back to him, saying, “Nope, I can’t do it.”

Will was lucky - or unlucky, maybe - that he didn’t accidentally hang up when he caught it.

“Hi, Kayla,” Will said cautiously.

_ “William Andrew Solace, who the hell was that?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! part 3 is coming next week!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are at the end!! get ready for some angst yall

“Kayla, please calm down,” Will said, rising from the couch and starting toward the hallway and hesitating there when he realized that he couldn’t just walk into either of the bedrooms, and a bathroom phone call seemed weird. 

_ “Calm down?” _ she repeated.  _ “I  _ know _ that wasn’t your voice, so who was it?” _

“My boyfriend?” Will tried. He held the phone away from his ear as Kayla started shouting again. In a few seconds, the noise stopped, and Will saw the home screen appear on his phone. Before he even had a chance to grow confused, it started ringing in his hand again. He answered the call, his sister’s face appearing on the screen.

“Why are you facetiming me?” Will asked cautiously. 

“Because I don’t believe you,” Kayla told him, eyes clearly focused on the room behind Will. “Where are you?”

“In my apartment?” Will tried, but he didn’t even sound convincing to himself.

“I’ve been to your apartment, Will, and that’s not it.”

“My boyfriend’s apartment,” Will said, slightly more sure about his words this time around.

“And where  _ is _ your boyfriend?” 

Will attempted a shrug, but it probably looked more like a flinch. “In the living room still, I think?”

Kayla narrowed her eyes. “Then let’s go talk to this boyfriend you’ve never told me anything about.”

Will grimaced, hesitating only for a second before starting back the way he’d come, knowing that if he stalled any longer then Kayla would just start shouting again. “Alright, but remember that, uh, I’ve been really busy -  _ super _ busy - recently, and... and I haven’t even called Mom in a  _ month-- _ God, she’s gonna kill me, too. But I... I haven’t had the time to tell  _ anyone, _ and it’s not like I  _ wanted _ pictures of me and him to be all over the internet--”

“You had plenty of time to go to a hockey game,” Kayla snapped at him. “You don’t even  _ like _ hockey.”

“It’s not that bad, actually,” Will told her, ignoring the tone of her voice. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t have the time to--”

“Will!” Percy called from across the living room. “Is that your sister? Nico told me she’s a huge fan of his - does she know who I am?” He ran across the room, popping into Kayla’s view over Will’s shoulder. “Hey! How’s it going?”

Kayla’s face paled, mouth dropping open and eyes widening. “Oh my god,” she whispered.  _ “Oh my god.” _

“You  _ are _ a fan!” Percy exclaimed. “It’s great to meet you, what’s your name?”

“Kayla Knowles,” she stammered.

Percy frowned at Will. “Different last names?”

“She’s adopted, her dad married my mom,” Will answered when it didn’t seem like Kayla was going to.

“Oh, cool! I had this stepdad once,” Percy started, talking to Kayla once again, “back before my first movie. He was super gross, smelled really bad all the time. Thankfully my mom divorced him when I started making enough money to support the two of us. Then my mom met my  _ current _ stepdad, but he’s actually cool. Anyway, nice meeting you!” 

Kayla was still frozen a few moments after Percy practically bounced away, finally seeming to breathe again when Will prompted her to speak. “You weren’t lying, were you?” she asked. “And... And that magazine? That was true, too? You’re actually--”

“Will? Is everything alright now?” Nico asked, walking towards Will and grabbing one of his hands, pulling him toward the couch. They sat down together, Nico resting his chin on Will’s shoulder and peering at the screen. “Is this Kayla? Will’s told me a bit about you.”

Kayla opened her mouth, though nothing but a small squeak came out.

“You, uh, asked who answered my phone earlier?” Will said, and tipped his head toward Nico. “That was him.”

“I screamed at Nico di Angelo?” Kayla murmured in disbelief, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh my  _ god, _ I’m so sorry!”

Nico smiled at her. “It’s fine, it’s not like you knew it was me.”

“Still! I’m  _ so _ sorry,” she said again, before rubbing a hand down her face. “You know what, Will? I think I’ll call you back some other time, I-- I need a minute.”

“Bye, Kayla,” Will said. “Love you.”

Nico waved at the camera. “Nice to meet you.”

_ “Oh my god,” _ she whispered again, and the call cut out.

Will dropped his phone into his lap, head tipping to rest against Nico’s. “That...was a lot easier than I was expecting.”

“You wanna call your mother, too, while you’re in a good mood?” Nico asked.

“God, no.”

 

* * *

 

Will found himself more and more overwhelmed as the days went on. He’d practically moved into Nico’s apartment since Percy had refused to leave until he’d finished whatever business he had in LA. He’d been seen in public with both of the actors multiple times, and there were constantly cameras in his face whenever he was alone, people practically chasing him between his classes just for the tiniest bit of gossip. 

Not only did he feel like he could never get a second to himself anymore, but he’d started getting terrible anxiety whenever he was alone with Nico - which thankfully wasn’t too often since Reyna and Percy were usually around, but he’d been losing sleep at night, trying not to think about Nico so close to him in bed.

Will called Kayla after class one day, asking her to meet him at a coffee shop near her apartment, and agreed to see her in half an hour. He put on a hat and scarf and sunglasses and silently pleaded that nobody recognized him before his sister arrived.

He ordered a coffee and sat down at a table near the door, feeling like he might fall asleep sitting up. Even the hot drink in his hands wasn’t doing anything to keep him awake, though he was startled when another drink was set down on the table in front of him, and his sister noisily scraped her chair across the tiled floor.

“You look like shit,” was the first thing she said before taking a sip of her drink. “What’s up? How’s your boy?”

Will hung his head, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I need to talk to you,” Will told her, “and I can’t do it here.”

Kayla leaned forward excitedly. “Ooh, is it celebrity gossip? I  _ love _ me some celebrity gossip.”

Will stood abruptly, pulling his backpack over his shoulders and grabbing his drink. “Are you coming with me or not?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she responded, moving much slower than her brother, “let’s go to my place.”

 

“Start talking,” Kayla said once they were sat down on her couch. “What aren’t the tabloids telling us?”

Will leaned forward, head in his hands and elbows resting on his knees. “It’s not about the tabloids.”

Kayla shoved at his thigh with her foot. “C’mon, Will, you know you can’t lie to me.”

“I know I can’t!” Will shouted, composure shattering. “You know I can’t lie, and you know I _ hate _ it when I can get away with lying, and I hate the fact that my entire life is one _ big damn lie!” _

Kayla recoiled, having never seen her brother act like this before. 

“Everything I’ve said and done for the past  _ month _ has been a  _ lie,” _ Will continued. “I can’t  _ stand  _ it anymore, Kayla! I can’t do it!”

“What can’t you do?” Kayla asked quietly.

“I hooked up with Nico at a bar,” Will started, desperately trying to regain his composure. “Somebody got a picture of us, so his manager, Reyna, told us we had to pretend to date, or else Nico’s career would be ruined. Or something. I don’t remember anymore.”

“Were you…” Kayla searched for the word,  _ “threatened? _ Blackmailed?”

“No!” Will cried, finally turning to look at her, eyes red. “No, she offered to pay my tuition for however long this lasts, but-- Kayla, I can’t anymore.”

“I don’t understand. What’s the problem? You seemed fine!”

“It’s ripping me apart,” Will sobbed, hunching over again. “The stress of everyone being so incredibly aware of everything I do-- I can’t even  _ sleep, _ Kayla. I’m  _ falling in love with him _ and he’s--” Will took a breath. “He’s a really good actor.”

Kayla shifted closer, wrapping her arms around her brother. “I’m sorry, Will,” she told him. “I had no idea. On the phone, you looked-- You both seemed so in love, I didn’t even think for a second that he didn’t-- I’m so sorry.”

“What am I supposed to do?” he whispered. 

“I don’t know, hun,” Kayla said. “Take a break. Stay here tonight, clear your head, and we can talk about this again tomorrow, sound good?”

Will nodded, and Kayla squeezed his shoulders. 

“I’ll order Chinese and we’ll find a movie on Netflix or something.”

 

Will slept on the couch that night, Kayla insisting that he stay and telling him that if he didn’t, she’d call his mother immediately, and then confiscated Will’s phone for the night. She didn’t read his texts, but saw about ten of them before she shut it off and went to sleep. 

“You know,” she started the next morning over their breakfast of poptarts or orange juice, “the last time you told me you were in love with your boyfriend, it was a much happier experience than this.”

Will glared at her out of the corner of his eye. 

“Then again, that was your actual boyfriend,” Kayla continued. “And he didn’t love you because he loved What’s-Her-Face instead.”

“Kayla.”

“This totally isn’t helping, is it,” she asked, more of a statement than a question. “This is a lot more like after he broke up with you, anyway.”

There was a beat of silence before Will said, “Should I break up with Nico?”

“I think you should talk to him, first,” she told him.

“I feel so  _ used,” _ he whispered. “That’s not how a relationship should feel.”

“It’s not a relationship,” Kayla reminded him. “Have you tried talking to Lou about any of this?”

“I can’t,” he said. “You’re not even supposed to know that all of this is faked.  _ Percy Jackson _ has been living in the guest room and even he doesn’t get to know.”

_ “He’s _ been in the guest room?” Kayla repeated. “Where’ve you been--” Will ducked his head, cheeks growing pink. “Oh my god,  _ Will, _ get out of there before he kills you. He’s going to torture you to death!”

“But what if I leave, and then I can never see him again?” Will asked. “Maybe I’ll start to move on eventually, meet somebody else, but then we’ll go to the movies or something and  _ there he’ll be. _ I  _ love _ him, Kayla. It’s...different then last time. I don’t know how, but-- I don’t think I’ll ever get to be  _ really _ over him.”

Kayla rose from the couch. “Find another movie or something to watch. I’ll be right back.” 

She left the room, heading toward her bedroom where Will’s phone was still turned off, closing the door behind her and picking up the phone.

She found Nico’s contact in no time, dialing the number and holding the device up to her ear. 

“Will?” Nico’s voice came through the phone. “Where are you? I tried calling you, but your phone was off. Are you okay? Will?”

“It’s Kayla. He’s with me, he’s staying here for a little bit,” she told him. “He needs a break.”

“Can I talk to him?” Nico asked hesitantly.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kayla said, and hung up the phone.

 

Will spent another night at Kayla’s before she allowed him to leave. She’d been called into work and told Will as she left that she could no longer hold him there, but she hoped he’d had enough time to think about his options. She walked out of the apartment, her words echoing in his head.  _ I hope you make the right choice. _

Will took his time and stopped back at his own apartment before even thinking about returning to Nico’s. He stepped inside the door, flipping the switch and letting the lights flicker on slowly, illuminating the single room of his apartment. His eyes scanned the room, looking exactly the same as it had when he’d left it the last time about two weeks before. The mattress on the floor in the corner was unmade, a sweatshirt was thrown over the back of a chair, and a single coffee mug sat unwashed in the sink.

He crossed the apartment, dropping down onto the mattress and holding his head in his hands. Even after all this time spent away from his current situation, he was still so incredibly tired. At any other time, he probably would’ve been able to lie down and sleep right there, but he knew that wouldn’t happen - not until he spoke to Nico, at least. He leaned back against the wall, slipping his phone out of his pocket and opening his messaging app, sliding through his conversations - pointedly ignoring the ones from Nico - until he found Reyna’s name. 

 

Nico returned home with an unfamiliar ache in his chest, dragging his feet as he entered his apartment. For the last couple of days, he’d felt like everything was moving unusually slow, like he was living underwater. All of his senses felt dulled, felt like even if he screamed barely any sound would come out.

He really wanted to scream.

Nico walked aimlessly into his apartment, unsure of how he would spend his time alone, except maybe to just fall asleep right then and there on the couch - except, no, he couldn’t. He came around the corner into the living room, eyes landing on a head of blond curls peeking over the back of the couch, and Nico froze.

He felt like he could breathe again, and when he stepped forward, he was on solid ground once again.

He rounded the couch quickly, tugging the textbook that Will was reading out of his hands and tossing it to the opposite end of the couch. He planted himself in Will’s lap, straddling his legs. His hands found their way to rest on Will’s cheeks, and their lips collided.

“I missed you,” Nico breathed, smiling wide before pressing himself closer.

He felt Will’s hands sliding up his chest, pushing gently, just enough for Will to ask, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” Nico whispered and leaned in again, because it had worked every other time. It had gotten them there before.

But then Will was shoving him back with so much force that Nico would’ve fallen off the couch completely had it not been for Will’s fists gripping his shirt.  _ ”Stop, _ Nico.”

Nico’s heart was pounding; he didn’t know what he could have possibly done wrong. His hands fell away from Will’s face, hovering in the air between them as his eyes widened in fear. 

“You can’t keep using me like this, Nico!”

“Using you?” Nico repeated, so quietly he was almost silent. “I don’t understand--”

“You can’t just assume that I always want to have sex with you!” Will nearly shouted, and Nico made sure to hold himself as still as possible, or else he might’ve flinched. “I don’t sleep with people I’m not in relationships with.  _ I’m not like you.  _ I don’t even know why I slept with you the first time!”

“You didn’t…” Nico started softly, feeling like he might start crying at any second,  _ “want to?”  _ He’d never seen Will act like this before, and he was  _ terrified. _

Will took a breath, trying to calm himself down. It didn’t help much. “Not really, no. I was just trying to enjoy a night out with my friends and--” Will tipped his head forward, hiding his expression from Nico’s eyes. “I didn’t regret it, but I didn’t want it at the time. I don’t regret meeting you, but this... _ whatever _ this is that we have right now, I don’t want this, either. This fake relationship thing is messing with my head, and I want it to stop.”

Nico felt like his chest was constricting, like any second he’d lose the ability to breathe. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“It’s not like it was real, anyway,” Will scoffed, glancing back up and feeling a shock go up his spine at the look of dread on Nico’s face. “It’s either that, or--”

“Or  _ what?” _ Nico snapped, fingers wrapping around Will’s wrists. 

“Or this stops being some stupid  _ acting training _ or whatever the hell this was.”

“I don’t know what you  _ mean, _ Will,” Nico told him, tightening his grip in frustration.

“I  _ like _ you!” Will shouted. “I like you, and I  _ want _ to date you, for real. Not this fake relationship bullshit we’ve been doing. I’m all in, Nico. It’s all or nothing.”

Nico was too shocked to move. That...was  _ not _ where he thought this was going. He remained frozen long enough to see the hope begin to fade from Will’s eyes. “Yes!” Nico cried, startling them both. “I’m-- I’m in.”

The stress seemed to physically melt out of Will’s body, his grip momentarily loosening on Nico’s shirt before he was tugging the actor forward, smashing their lips together. “Thank god,” Will breathed, resting his forehead against Nico’s. 

Will’s hands slid down Nico’s chest, landing at his hips where his thumbs began to draw little circles into the skin just underneath Nico’s shirt. “We gotta make some ground rules,” Will said softly. “Like, you have to quit jumping on me the second I walk in the door.”

Nico nodded, picking at a loose thread on Will’s shirt.

“And again, you can’t just assume I wanna sleep with you all the time,” Will continued. “You have to  _ ask _ like a normal person.”

Nico glanced up to meet his eyes. “Do you wanna have sex right now?”

Will cracked a smile, though he hurriedly tried to cover it up. “Stop it, this is serious.” Nico started to giggle, and Will couldn’t hold back his smile any longer. “Take this seriously! This is all incredibly serious!”

“Very serious,” Nico laughed, but tried to calm himself down.

“It is,” Will insisted. “I’m going to be a doctor someday. Everything is going to be very serious. And speaking of, I have to study sometimes, okay? Like, I can’t go out with you all the time or lay around and watch movies all day, I have a college education that you’re paying for.”

“That  _ I’m _ paying for?” Nico repeated, eyebrow raised.

“That was the agreement,” Will replied cheekily. 

Nico rolled his eyes. “Is there anything else?”

“One more thing,” Will promised. “Just because I’m busy, don’t hesitate to ask me if you need anything from me or if you want to do something with me. I might not always say yes, but I’d rather you ask instead of us never doing anything together and having you feel neglected.”

Nico seemed to think about that for a second. “Can I ask you something then?”

“Absolutely,” Will answered, squeezing Nico’s hips.

“Will you move in with me?” he asked. “For real?”

Will grinned. “Let’s see how these first couple of weeks go first, and then we’ll see.”

Nico nodded, leaning forward and tucking his face against Will’s neck, fingers gripping at Will’s shirt. “You really scared me, you know? I thought you were gonna leave.”

“I thought you were gonna tell me I had to.”

Nico turned his face into Will’s shoulder. “God, I would  _ never.” _

 

* * *

 

Nico woke up one morning, hand reaching out to his side and feeling nothing but an empty bed. He rolled onto his feet, slowly making his way through his apartment, and pausing when he saw a beautiful man in his kitchen.

It’d been a month since Will moved in, and every morning Nico was happier than before.

He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Will’s waist and smooshing his face into Will’s back as the smell of coffee started drifting around them.

“Good morning,” Will said, trailing a finger down one of Nico’s arms. He hummed against Will’s skin. “Reyna stopped by with your mail. Looks like you got a gift with all the fanmail this time.”

Nico groaned. “It better not be something creepy.” He detached himself from his boyfriend - god,  _ boyfriend _ \- and crossed the kitchen to start sifting through the mail. There were about ten letters, which was the usual, but this time there was a small box amongst the envelopes. 

Nico picked up the box and turned to Will. “I don’t suppose you want to open this for me?”

“Hell no,” Will told him. “What if it’s, like, a dead rat or something?”

“Why would somebody send me a dead rat?” Nico asked, shaking the box slightly just in case. Whatever it was seemed more solid than a rodent, or maybe that was just the stuffing on the inside. “Besides, wouldn’t we smell something?”

“Not if that thing’s insulated.” Will took his mug to the table, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

“If you loved me, you would do this for me,” Nico tried one last time.

Will hummed. “How about that.” He shot Nico a grin.

Nico rolled his eyes and got himself a pair of scissors and slowly started cutting at the packaging tape. He used the blade of the scissors to flip open the top of the box, just in case, but resting on top of all the stuffing was a letter in an envelope.

“Tell me if anything in that letter sounds suspicious and I’ll call the cops,” Will offered from across the kitchen.

Nico ripped the envelope open, pulling out the letter and starting to read the loopy cursive handwriting: 

_ Dear Nico, _

_ My name is Hazel Levesque. You don’t know me, but I’d like to get to know you. I know this probably sounds really suspicious, but I have reason to believe that we might be related. I heard in an interview once that you never knew your father, but I think I might. My father’s name is Haley di Angelo. He was once married to a woman named Maria, and they had two children. If I did the math right, you would be the same age as the younger child. _

_ This is probably a lot to take in, and I probably sound like I’m crazy, but I really do think you might be my brother. And if you are, I’d really like to meet you. Inside the box are two things: one is a gift for you, and the other is a DNA test. If you’re willing, you can send a sample of your DNA to the address on a business card I’ve stapled to this letter and maybe you can finally find out who your father is. _

_ If not, I hope you like your gift anyway! _

_ -Possibly your half-sister Hazel _

 

At the bottom of the page was a phone number. It might have been Hazel’s, it might have been for the DNA clinic. It might have been...his dad’s?

Nico set the letter aside, starting to look through the box. First, there was a sealed brown envelope, most likely with the DNA test inside, and then there was the gift wrapped in white tissue paper. 

As Nico started to open the present, Will made his way over, probably confused as to why his boyfriend had been quiet for so long. He picked up the letter, reading it over himself as Nico ripped at the tissue paper, revealing a black and white sweater with snowflakes and skull shapes stitched into it.

“It’s very well made,” Will commented, setting the letter back where he’d found it.

“It is,” Nico agreed, holding the sweater close to his body.

“Are you going to do it?” Will asked softly.

Nico took a second to think before he nodded. “Yeah. I think I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! i hope this was worth the wait!
> 
> see yall for the last few days of auctober!! ((i can't believe i made it this far either))

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! i hope you liked it and i'll see yall for the rest of auctober!!
> 
> (parts 2 and 3 will be posted next thursday and the thursday after that so keep an eye out!!)


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